Surprised
by Phoebe Taylor
Summary: Summary? I'll just let you read it. AcexOC. One of my many OC's!


Ace yawned, blinking a few times to see that his face was buried in a plate of food "Ugh… must've fallen asleep again" he stretched, sitting up only to hear the click of a gun cocking. It was then he felt the cold metal pressed up against his skull. He sighed, staying rather calm as he wiped his face off "Those aren't going to work on me, ya know"

"They're not normal bullets"

A woman's voice; that surprised him. "Seastone?" he chuckled when the barrel of the gun was pressed harder against his head "That's a yes" he sighed, sitting back in his seat. He still hadn't seen her face. "So… what's it for this time? Promotion in the marines? You need the money to feed some starving orphans? Trust me, I've heard it all"

"Nothing so noble, Fire Fist" he frowned at the bitterness in her tone "An old promise to a friend who forgot me long ago"

"Then why are you keeping your promise?"

She laughed. "Because**_I_**_ haven't_ forgotten _you_, Ace"

He whipped around, his eyes widening "Reina!"

"'Bout time" she sighed, sitting down next to him, un-cocking the gun and setting it down on the table "Guess I should be flattered you recognize me at all" she sighed again, long chocolate brown hair cascading down her back to her waist in loose curls as angry mahogany eyes glared at him with such an intense heat that he actually shrunk away. She would've been very beautiful if her features weren't contorted with anger.

"But… I don't… w-what are you doing here?"

"I told you; fulfilling a promise"

Ace's eye twitched "By pointing a gun to my head?"

"It wasn't loaded" she said calmly, reaching over and taking his drink, sipping it.

His frown deepened "I don't understand…"

Reina tossed her hair over her shoulder in annoyance "Don't understand _what_? We promised we'd meet up again. I've been tracking you for a while and I know that it takes a serious threat to your life for you to act even remotely serious"

"Tracking?"

"I'm a bounty hunter now"

"When did-"

"You missed out on a lot when you suddenly disappeared" She sent him another glare but he noticed it was weaker, sadder.

"But I thought that you were-"

"Join up with you? _Please_, you should know more than anyone that the only women Whitebeard allows on his ship are his special nurses. Besides, I_ never_ said I was going to be a pirate; that was all you"

Ace blinked a few times, still in shock to see her there, if it even was her. She used to be fiery, spirited, smart and compassionate. Now… she was bitter and cold. "What happened to you, Reina?"

She frowned, fingering the glass absently "You left, Ace. It's as simple as that. You broke every promise you ever made to me" she stared down at the glass, her hair falling like a curtain to hide her eyes "Have you even thought about me _once_ in the past four years?"

"I… well…" he suddenly felt ashamed. He knew she'd be pissed; they were practically engaged when he suddenly left after his dream. But… they were far too young, seventeen was too soon and he panicked. The man sighed, adjusting the hat on his head; he broke her heart and ran like a coward "Yeah… I have"

Her laugh was bitter "My, my, that's more than I expected"

"Reina, you know I didn't mean to…" he trailed off, staring at her in shock as tears splashed onto the counter. He'd never seen her cry before. Ever. "R-Reina?" he gulped, suddenly feeling nervous "A-are you alright?"

"Not even a note… not to me or Luu. Not to anyone. Y-you just left me" She sniffed as the night before left came back to her memory.

_-__  
__They walked hand in hand as fireflies danced around them. Reina rested her head on his shoulder, smiling when he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, wrapping his free arm around her waist. He tilted her chin up, kissing her softly as he held her closer. She kissed back instantly, wrapping her arm around his neck as she felt his warm tongue licking at her lips, making her giggle softly as the kiss grew deeper and more intimate; their fingers intertwining. _

_Ace pulled away softly after a long time, smiling warmly as he kissed her forehead "I love you, Reina. Never forget that"_

_She blushed nicely, smiling "I love you too, Ace. Today was perfect"_

_"You deserved it; it's not every day you turn eighteen" _

_She grinned, resting her head on his shoulder as they walked along again, at a slower pace. He walked her home, kissing her one last time, even more passionately before telling her how he loved her one last time. And then, he was gone… _

-  
"How did you _think_ I was going to react to that? That I was going to be happy that the man I loved, the man who _said_ he loved me back just left without a word! Oh, trust me, at first, I thought you'd been kidnapped, that you'd gotten hurt. I put everything I had, left home, left my friends, _everything_ to go find you! A year and a half later, I'm reading a newspaper to see that not only are you a pirate not but you're the second commander of Whitebeard himself!" the tears fell uncontrollably down her cheeks. She flinched back when he tried to touch her "I HATE YOU!" she screamed before running out of the restaurant, her face buried in her hands as she flew through the streets. She didn't even know why she bothered. She knew it was going to hurt, seeing him again… But… she couldn't help it. Even after everything, she still felt her heart beat harder when she saw him; her knees shake and her breath catch.

Ace sat there in shock as the weight of what he'd done pressed down on him, paralyzing him to the chair. He frowned as he felt something on his cheek. He moved his hand up to brush it away only to come back with a wet hand. He couldn't be. He hadn't cried since Luffy was born! "REINA! WAIT!" he ripped from his seat, crowds parting in his wake. He head whipped around as he searched desperately to catch a glimpse of her, somewhere, anywhere! "**REINA**!" He growled, his legs bursting into flames as he shot himself up above the crowds, perching on one of the taller buildings.

There.

She was still running, pushing through the crowds.

Ace literally soared through the air, his feet acting like rockets as he landed hap hazardously in front of her. In an instant, he raised a tall ring of fire around them so she was boxed in and everyone else was shut out.

"Leave me alone!" she screamed, glaring at him again though she couldn't stop the tears from falling "I don't know why I came here! I knew you were an asshole from the start! I should have you neutered!"

"Reina! Calm down!"

"Calm down?" she had no intention of 'calming down' anytime soon. "You ripped my heart out and sent it through the blender, you bastard!" she continued cursing furiously at him, using words that made even him pale.

The pirate sighed, walking forward calmly, pulling her into a tight hug. He winced as she pounded her fists against him, trying to push away. He only held her closer. "I'm… so sorry…" his fire vanished, as he practically clung onto her "I'm sorry. I was a coward and a jerk and everything else you said. I was afraid; I was getting too close and we were barely eighteen. I wasn't ready but… I never meant to hurt you, Reina. I… I loved you, I still love you" he frowned when she suddenly went limp, sobbing uncontrollably against him.

Ace picked her up softly, holding her bridal style as he walked back to the inn he was staying at, right up to his room. He sat down, holding her in his lap as she simply cried. Finally, when she was too tired to keep crying, she rested against him, her head over his heart as he absently stroked her hair and back, cradling her against him.

"I missed you" Reina whispered, eyes half closed

"I know. I missed you too" he kissed her forehead softly "Can you… ever forgive me? For being such an ass?"

She frowned, looking up at him for a long moment "We'll see…"

**Quite a few years later:**

Ace mumbled in his sleep, unconsciously pulling his wife closer into him. He opened one eye lazily, smirking when he saw she was awake. He kissed her softly, chuckling when she grinned into it "Fell asleep again?" he raised an eyebrow.

Reina rolled her eyes, brushing the hair from his face "You _always_ fall asleep at the worst possible time. Why would today be different?"

"No reason" he grinned at her, holding her closer before he suddenly felt something heavy hit his back

"Papa! You fell asleep at the best part!" the small boy pouted, clinging onto his father's back as a small girl appeared in the doorway behind with, a small teddy bear clutched in her arms.

Ace laughed loudly, sitting up and scratching his head "Alright, alright. I'm coming" he turned back to the woman in his arms, kissing her passionately, rolling his eyes when the boy made retching noises. He sighed "I'll be back soon, love" he winked, getting up "Yeah, yeah, you do that now, but soon enough, you'll like it too" he smiled, picking the little girl up as the three went to the room across the hall.

Reina smiled after them, her eyes filled with warmth like they used to "Guess things change after all" she muttered to herself before resting back in the bed, her arms under her head with a huge smirk on her lips as she soon fell asleep.


End file.
